


Ring of Fire

by thehorrorinsymmetry



Series: In the Line of Fire [2]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Firefighters, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, Finn is Amazing, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Poe is a goober, SO MUCH FLUFF, Trans Poe Dameron, lots of squad antics because that is my jam, the squad is just tired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-21
Updated: 2016-05-21
Packaged: 2018-06-09 17:05:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6915751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thehorrorinsymmetry/pseuds/thehorrorinsymmetry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They've been together for a year and a half when Poe decides it's time to propose to Finn. It has to be amazing and go perfectly, so he enlists the squad to help out. </p>
<p>A sequel to In the Line of Fire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ring of Fire

They’re in the middle of some movie Finn had picked, but Poe stopped paying attention awhile ago. He’s laying in one of his favourite places in the world - the couch in their living room, tucked snugly between Finn’s side and the back of the couch. His eyes have been closed for ages and with Finn’s fingers idly massaging his scalp he’s well on his way to falling asleep right there. 

He groans when the scratching slows to a halt. “Don’t stop.”

Finn shakes beneath him with a silent laugh. “Love it when you say that.”

“Mm, oh yeah,” Poe moans low in his throat as Finn’s nails scrape along the back of his head. “Right there.”

Finn’s breath puffs against Poe’s forehead as he laughs. “That's so hot.”

“Mhm.” Poe sighs. He turns his head, pressing his face against Finn’s chest to try and get more of the warmth his partner is somehow always radiating. “Gonna stay here forever.”

Finn’s lips ghost against his ear. “M’kay.” 

If Poe was more awake he would lift his head and make sure Finn understood that he is being completely serious and they’re going to spend the rest of their days on this couch, but as it is Finn is pretty much pinned beneath him. Finn’s stuck with him for better or worse.

Poe’s eyes fly open.

Something that he’s been holding back clicks into place in his mind with enough force to squeeze the air out of his lungs. 

They’ve been together for a year and a half now and are more solid than ever - they’ve already talked about the future, about what they both want in life, and Poe’s had the best time living with Finn. Even when Finn nags him about picking up his socks or hogs the blankets and Poe wakes up half frozen, he’s never been happier. 

It’s  _ finally  _ time - he’s going to propose to Finn. 

He takes a deep breath, suddenly much more awake than he had been a moment ago. He's going to propose to Finn. They're going to get married and be a family and grow old together. 

Poe shifts up so he's on top of his partner, his leg tucked between Finn’s. He takes Finn's jaw in his hand and tilts his head, pulling him into a desperate kiss. 

Finn responds immediately, opening his mouth to Poe’s while his hands find Poe's hips. He smiles after Poe pulls away and runs his hands along Poe’s back, not bothering to open his eyes. “Not that I didn’t love that, but what was that for?”

He runs his thumb along Finn’s lip, laughing when Finn nips the tip of his digit. Pressing a trail of kisses along Finn’s jaw, he nuzzles against him. “I love you.”

Finn squeezes his hip. “I love you too.” 

Warmth bursts through his chest. He moves to cover Finn again but the elbow he plants above Finn’s shoulder slips and he falls off the couch, landing flat on his back on the floor with a loud thud. “Ow.”

Finn bursts out laughing. He throws a hand over his eyes as he giggles, his smile far too bright and adorable for Poe to be able to even pretend to be mad. Poe lays there, waiting for him to settle down. “You done yet?”

Finn rolls onto his side and smiles at him, still shaking with remnants of laughter. “You okay, old man? Did you break a hip?” 

He scoffs and swats at whichever part of Finn is within arm’s reach.

“Luckily for you, I happen to be a medic.” Finn slides to the ground much more gracefully than Poe had managed. He settles between Poe’s legs, his smile a disarming mix of silly and genuine that makes Poe feel like he’s melting into a lovesick goo. “I can help you with that.”

He cups Poe’s hips and actually does a quick exam, his brow wrinkling as he tries to keep a straight face. His hands graze Poe’s inner thighs. “There’s no break, but I can feel some swelling -”

Poe breaks down into a fit of giggles. He grabs Finn’s shirt and pulls him down, both of them laughing against each other’s mouths. Finn’s hand finds his and laces their fingers together. 

They don’t finish the movie. 

 

\----------

 

He starts brainstorming immediately. It has to be something amazing because Finn deserves the best and Poe is going to do everything he can to make it happen. Most of his ideas he nixes pretty quickly - going back to where they had their first date is cute but Finn deserves more than a restaurant proposal, and skywriting is beautiful but also probably really expensive and very impractical. 

He could write Finn a song, or turn their home into a super romantic scene of their love. They could go to their favourite park and watch the sunset, or he could wait a few months and propose to Finn on their second anniversary. 

He really doesn’t want to wait. 

One thing keeps coming back to him - the fire station. The station is where they met, where he got to know Finn and where he fell deeply, head over heels, irrevocably in love with him. It’s as much a home to them as their house and has been the setting for so many important moments in their relationship, it seems fitting as the place he takes this step with Finn. 

The decision is sealed when they get to work the next morning. It feels so completely and fundamentally right that he almost drops to one knee then and there. He barely makes it through the morning briefing, butterflies flying in his stomach like they had all those months ago when they had first gotten together. 

He takes a deep, relieved breath when he can finally dismiss everyone. Clearing his throat, he watches everyone start to leave. “Karé, Iolo, a word?”

They glance at each other but drop back into their seats while everyone else files out. As soon as they're alone he shuts the door - slowly, so no one turns back and gets suspicious - and stares at his two closest friends. 

Iolo glances between Karé and him. “Are you going to kill us? I really was hoping to not die today. I can explain about the chips, it was actually Snap -” 

“I have some news.” He stares at them. “Big news.”

“Oh my God, are you dying?”

Karé elbows Iolo. She watches Poe silently for a moment with a small frown. “Are you?”

He waves them off and waits a moment to build up the tension that this moment deserves. “I’m going to ask Finn to marry me.”

They stare at him.

“Guys?” Poe blinks. “I mean, this is kind of big news. I’m proposing to Finn, the love of my life? I’m getting married.”

“Poe, that’s so exciting!” Karé jumps up and hugs him tightly. “When are you going to do it?”

“Um, I don’t know yet? I just decided last night. But soon. I definitely want to - I don’t want to wait any longer than I have to.” He lets out a happy laugh. “I want to be married to him.” 

Iolo smiles at him, resting his hands over his own heart. “Aw, you’re so gay.” 

“ _ Anyway _ , I really want to do something special for him. I mean, I know the wedding is the big one and everything, but I want to do something that shows him how much I love him. Finn deserves something really special, you know?” 

“You do realize that none of us own a hot air balloon, right?”

Poe rolls his eyes. “Come on, I’m not that much of a romantic loser.”

Karé and Iolo stare at him. 

“I really hate you guys sometimes.” He frowns. “Anyway,  _ no  _ I don’t want a hot air balloon. I want to propose to him here, since this is where we met and fell in love.”

“That’s a  _ great  _ idea.” Iolo nods. “Romantic, and requires no effort on my part.” 

He grins. “You’re right on one count.”

Iolo groans, leaning back in his chair. 

“Ignore him. Of course we’ll help you.” 

Poe squeezes Karé’s shoulder. “Alright! Operation Super Amazing Proposal is a go.” 

Iolo shakes his head. “Dude.”

 

\----------

 

Poe wants to bring Finn with him when he goes to see his pa the next day, but that would kind of undermine the whole reason he wants to talk to him in the first place so he leaves Finn at home. It feels wrong - Kes has all but adopted Finn as his own and it doesn’t get much better than spending quality time with the two best men in his world - but he needs to talk to his pa about this before anything happens. 

He lets himself into the house when he gets there and takes a deep breath as the mouthwatering scent of his pa’s cooking hits him. “Pa?”

“In here.” His pa calls from the kitchen. 

He groans as soon he gets to the kitchen and sees the chile rellenos. His pa pulls him into a tight hug and presses a kiss to his forehead, squeezing his shoulders tight. “How are you, mijo?” 

“I’m really good, pa.” He pulls himself onto one of the bar stools lining the counter, idly spinning it side to side. “Finn says hi, by the way.” 

His pa wipes his hands on his apron and begins piling food onto a pair of plates. “How is your boy doing?” 

“Good, good.” Poe bites his lip. “Hey, pa? I’ve got some news.” 

“Hm?” 

“Well,” Poe takes a deep breath. “I’m going to ask Finn to marry me.”

His pa smiles. “That’s good to hear, mijo.” 

Poe waits for the surprise to sink in but his pa just keeps preparing the dishes. “Um - shouldn’t you be really excited? Surprised? Asking when we’re going to give you grandkids?”

His laughs, looking at Poe with amusement sketched on his soft features. “Poe, you’ve been over the moon about this boy for over two years now. If anything, I’m wondering what took you so long.”

“Oh.” 

His pa comes around to his side of the counter and puts his own plate down, immediately tugging him into a hug that almost pulls him off the stool. He smiles against his pa’s shoulder and hugs him back tight. Pa moves back and cups Poe’s cheeks in his hands, his smile lighting up his face. “I’m so happy for you, mijo. You and Finn are very good together.” 

His pa pauses, his smiling softening. “Your ma would be so happy for you, Poe. She would’ve loved Finn, and she would be so proud of the man you are.” 

“Thank you.” The words come out quieter than he’d planned, barely making it past the emotion welling up within him. 

His pa smacks his cheek softly. “After the wedding we’ll talk nietos, si?” He takes a seat beside Poe and digs into his plate. “I’m still too young to be an abuelo.”

Poe laughs. “Sure thing, pa.”

“Have you thought much about the wedding?”

Poe shrugs. “A little bit, sure.” 

Pa sends him an amused look.

“I mean, I don’t want to get too ahead of myself before Finn actually says yes, but. Well, I want it to be outside. In the spring, probably? When everything’s in full bloom. And I’m not really into the idea of some random stranger being the one to marry us so I was thinking if Finn’s cool with it I’d really like Leia to officiate.” Poe pauses, glancing down at his plate. “And, um. It would mean a lot to me if you walked me down the aisle? I know that’s usually only a bride thing, but I really want you in the wedding.”

His pa smiles, clapping his shoulder. “Nothing would make me happier, mijo.”

“Good. Okay.” Poe smiles; the warmth in his chest nearly overflowing as he tries to contain himself. “I'm really happy, papa. I love him so much.”

“You two are going to have a wonderful life together.” His pa clasps his shoulder. “You’ve done well for yourself, mijo.”

They spend the rest of dinner talking about the wedding. His pa tells him the story of when he married Shara, staring into space as if he’d travelled back to the day.

He gets home to find Finn reading quietly in the living room, with BB-8 snoring against his thigh. Finn smiles at him and it feels like everything in the world is right as it should be.

 

\----------

 

Poe takes Rey and Karé ring shopping because Rey knows Finn and Karé knows jewellery. They go to a store Karé recommends and upon opening the door, Poe is immediately relieved he didn't try to do this alone. 

The store is huge, filled with aisles of gleaming metals, sparkling stones, and price tags that make him want to cry.  He had already checked out a few websites, but it’s far different now that he’s surrounded by actual jewellery in this room full of well dressed salespeople with fake smiles and stale air. He freezes when his eyes catch on a necklace with a _five digit price tag_.

Karé tugs at his sleeve and pulls him farther along the aisle. “So what do you want to get Finn?”

“A... ring?”

Karé purses her lips. “An engagement gift can be anything, really. A lot of people are into watches, or a bracelet. Necklaces are pretty big these days.”

Poe chews on his lip, nodding slowly.

“What would you want, if it was the other way around?”

“I like rings - the symbolism of it, you know?” He shrugs. “But it’s not about what I want. This is for Finn.” 

"Finn will be happy with whatever you get him.” The tip of Rey’s mouth turns up, her gaze piercing right through Poe. “He doesn't care about that stuff. He just cares about you.” 

He pulls Rey into a quick hug. “Okay so a ring, then.”

Karé nods. “Gold or silver?”

He scoffs. “I'm not going to make my man wear a silver ring for the rest of our lives.”

“Any gemstones or patterns or anything?”

Poe stares at the rows of bands. “No, I want something simple.”

Karé rolls her head to the side, unimpressed. “That's also called boring.”

“Or  _ classic _ .” Poe shrugs. “He likes simple jewellery, and I know it'll look great on him.”

Karé lifts one eyebrow, her gaze on a bracelet display.

“Besides, fads come and go but the plan is for him to have this for a really long time, so I want something he’ll like now  _ and  _ fifty years from now.”

Karé sighs. “I suppose that's a good enough reason. Still boring, though.”

Poe hip checks her, grinning. He scans through the rows and tries to picture which ring would look best on Finn. “Rey, you got his ring size, right?"

She nods. “He's a size 9.”

“Hey, do you know what size you are?” Karé takes his hand and fiddles with his ring finger, bending it as if it’ll show her the number if she finds the right angle. 

He pulls his hand away from her with what definitely is not a yelp. “Uh, no?”

“We should check that while we’re here.” She grins. “You’re about to be a married man, this is the sort of thing you need to know.”

Before he even has a chance to respond Karé has a salesperson pull out a selection for them. She makes him try on a ridiculously flashy ring embedded with diamonds and manages to get sidetracked when she starts trying on rings herself.

Karé and Rey are caught up in a bracelet display a few feet away when Poe has a silent and very minor breakdown. 

After six or seven different rings, he slides on a plain gold band and immediately knows deep in his soul that this is the one he wants to give Finn. It’s the right size - they're the same size, apparently, even though his own rough hands aren't quite as nice as Finn’s elegant, life-saving ones - and is about as simple as a ring can get. 

It's wide enough for a decent sized inscription and there’s something about it that makes him want to see it on Finn’s finger for decades to come. It’s perfect. It's going to look perfect on him.

Poe has been planning the proposal for almost a week, but now that he’s standing here with the ring he’s going to give to Finn it hits him that this is actually happening. How much he'll be giving Finn along with this small piece of metal - the promise to be there with him, supporting him through whatever they come up against. His love, his life, his name if Finn will take it. Anything Finn might want, Poe is going to do his best to give to him.

He spins the ring on his finger for a moment before he makes himself pull it off. Heart thudding violently against his ribcage, he holds it up to the salesperson. “This one. I want this one.”

This is really happening.

 

\----------

 

Poe loves being a captain for a lot of reasons. He loves that he gets to work for his hero and being in command of his unit, and in the past week he’s been able to plan his proposal to the love of his life right under the man’s nose. 

As a captain, he can call meetings with anyone at any time for any reason. His office is Super Amazing Proposal Headquarters - although anyone that refers to it by name in front of Finn will be dead to Poe - and he gets a ridiculous amount of glee from being able to plan everything right behind Finn’s back without having to worry about arousing suspicion. 

He heads into Leia’s office and closes the door - which is totally normal because he’s the captain and he often has impromptu planning sessions with the chief. He sits across from her, mentally running through the plan as he patiently waits for her to finish whatever she’s doing.

As soon as she puts her pen down she looks up and immediately sends him a look.

“What?”

“I’ve known you nearly your entire life, Poe. Out with it.” 

He smiles. “I’m going to propose to Finn.” 

“Poe, that’s wonderful! I’m so happy for you two.” Leia smiles, eyes twinkling. “Now, why are you telling me about this in the middle of the workday?”

Poe bites his lip. “Well, it’s really important to me that I do something special for him. And I was thinking this is where we met and fell in love, and it’s really important to both of us.”

Leia nods, leaning back in her chair. “You want to propose to him here.”

“I want to propose to him here.”

“What’s your plan?”

“It’s not anything huge.” He assures her. “I want to set off the alarm so Finn gets ready and rushes to the bay, but instead of getting into a truck and heading to a job he gets to me one one knee and we head towards a lifetime of happiness together.” 

Leia smiles, soft and indulgent. “When do you want to do it?”

“Um… Next week?” Poe shrugs. “I have the ring and the guys are all in on the plan, so I could propose today, theoretically. But we have to get another station to cover for us for a little while, and I’d like to get some stuff to uh, make the bay a bit more romantic. So, next week.”

Leia nods. “That sounds reasonable enough.” 

“Um.” Poe pauses. “There’s one more thing?”

Leia tilts her head, waiting.

“It’s not for the proposal, but it’s pretty big so I want to give you as much warning as I can, so. After the wedding I want to take Finn to Guatemala. For a week, maybe? So we’ll both need a week off. At the same time, ideally. I know it’s a lot to ask for but it’s really important to me that I can show him where I came from, and this seems like the best time? And -”

“- Poe.”

Poe freezes, his mouth still open and half-formed around a word. 

“The last time you took an entire week off was never. Finn is just as bad as you are -” Poe scoffs. “- so if this is what it will take to get you both to take a well-deserved break, I will gladly make it happen.” 

“Oh.”

“Besides,” She leans in, the corner of her mouth twisting into a smirk. “I’m sure the squad could go without seeing you boys as brand new newlyweds.” 

He lets out a surprised laugh, heat spreading across his face. 

Leia smiles and covers his hand resting on her desk with her own. “You both deserve all the happiness in the world, Poe. Of course I will do this for you. All I ask in return is that you enjoy yourselves.” 

Poe blinks, willing himself to stay cool. He's at work. He has to go back to the guys in a minute - Finn will know something's up if Poe is all emotional out of nowhere. He takes a deep breath. “Thank you, ma’am.”

Leia squeezes his hand. “I wouldn’t say no if you brought back some Buñuelos, though.” 

He laughs. “I’ll see what I can do.”

 

\----------

 

He has a Super Amazing Proposal meeting at their house five days before the big event. Ostensibly they’re hosting a movie night and Rey just happens to want to go out for dinner with Finn, which means he’ll be left at the house with Karé, Iolo, Jess, and Snap for long enough to put the finishing touches on the plan.

He can’t wait until he proposes so he can finally tell Finn how much fun he’s had planning this right under his nose.

They start the movie while Finn’s still waiting to get a ride. He kisses Finn goodbye when Rey gets there and bites the inside of his cheek almost hard enough to draw blood to keep from giving away the game with a ridiculous smile. 

As soon as the door is closed behind Finn, he turns the tv off.

“Hey!” 

Jess stares at Iolo. “You knew we weren't actually watching a movie tonight.”

“Well yeah,” Iolo pouts. “Doesn't mean we can't have it on in the background.”

“You guys. I am proposing to Finn in less than a  _ week _ . We have to focus.” He looks at Iolo. “I don't want to be dramatic, but if you ruin this you're dead to me.”

Iolo puts his hands up, looking away with wide eyes. “Okay, bridezilla.”

Poe starts to get up, ready to give his friend a solid and well-earned love tap, but Karé grabs a handful of his shirt and pulls him back down. “We're supposed to be focusing.”

“Yeah, okay.” He puts the remote under his leg so Iolo can’t make a play for it. “We’re five days away from Operation Super Amazing Proposal, and -”

Iolo interrupts him. “- you know that makes you a sap right?”

Karé smacks Iolo’s chest while Jess snickers. “What?”

“‘Super Amazing Proposal’.” Iolo air quotes as he speaks. “S - A - P. This is literally Operation Sap.”

Poe blinks.

“Hold up,” Iolo laughs, shaking his head. “Did that seriously not occur to you? You’ve been calling it that for over a week. You just happened to give it the best name without even knowing it. You’re such a nerd.”

Jess laughs. “Hell, that’s adorable.”

Poe flushes. “Okay let’s get back on track, yeah? I know we’ve gone over pretty much everything before but this is the last time we’ll all be together before it goes down so we’re going over every detail. You guys know how important this is to me.” 

Everyone nods.

“Okay!” Poe claps his hands, falling into his no-nonsense captain mode. “The alarm is going to go off at one o’clock sharp on Monday. Before that I’m going to assign Jess and Finn to go through the equipment room. Jess, you  _ have _ to keep him in that room the entire time. Karé, Snap, and I will be decorating the bay and getting everything ready. Don’t even let him go to the bathroom. If he tries to leave just distract him. Tell him you need to talk about Rey? Whatever it takes.” 

Jess stares at him but doesn’t argue. 

“Iolo. Just stand in the hallway, okay? When the alarm goes off and you see Jess and Finn, go to the locker room with them. Just suit up fast like you always do. Don’t even say anything.”

“Pretty sure Finn’ll know something’s up if Iolo is quiet.” Karé smirks.

“Don’t say anything that’ll tip Finn off. Also, if for whatever reason Jess can’t keep him in the equipment room, you have to run interference. Keep him out of the bay - don’t even let him get close enough to see  _ into _ the bay. I think around the door to the briefing room?”

“It’s possible you’re overthinking this a  _ tiny  _ bit, Poe.”

He stares at Iolo. “Overthinking asking the man I am deeply in love with to commit to spending the rest of his life with me? Overthinking that?”

Iolo clears his throat. The cough sounding suspiciously like  _ bridezilla _ . Poe rolls his eyes but lets it go.

“I’ve got the ring. Karé, you’re picking the flowers up Monday morning.” 

Karé nods. “You got it.” 

“Leia has very graciously offered to keep the flowers in her office so we don’t have to try to keep Finn out of mine. She’s also going to have some apple cider so we can celebrate after but still do our jobs after. We’ll probably also have drinks or a fire or something later, but not on Monday.” He chews his bottom lip. “Finn and I are probably going to want to celebrate alone on Monday.” 

Everyone chuckles but across from him Snap is looking down at the table with a frown. “You okay, man?”

“Yeah, I just -” Snap sighs, glancing down at his hands. “Are you totally sure about this?”

It takes Poe a minute to register that Snap really just said that. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“It’s just that marriage is a huge responsibility, and I know you love Finn but you really haven’t known each other for that long in the grand scheme of things - he’s only twenty-six, Poe. He’s still settling into himself.”

He stares at Snap, something twisting uncomfortably in his chest. “Where the fuck is this coming from?”

“A place of  _ love _ , Poe.” Snap leans forward. “I care about you and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Finn would never hurt me. Ever. He’d hurt himself in order to keep me from getting hurt because he’s brave and amazing and he loves me every bit as much as I love him. I don’t need to wait to know that I want to spend the rest of my life with him.” He shakes his head. “Do you even want to be a part of this? I’m going to propose to him on Monday and I can do it with or without you.”

“Of course I do. I just want to make sure you've thought about it. That it’s what you really want.” 

“Believe me when I say there are very,  _ very _ few things I've wanted more than I want this.”

Snap nods tightly with a clenched jaw, his gaze on the coffee table.

The room stays quiet for a stretched moment. Poe takes a deep breath to try to shake the knot in his belly loose. He glances at Snap, completely unable to figure out where that had come from.

Iolo raises his hand. “Are we still a no-go on the doves?”

 

\----------

 

Snap’s words are still bothering him two days later. He can't even begin to figure out where they came from - Snap knows how much they love each other, has seen how much happier Poe is with Finn than he was before they met. Snap is happy in his marriage, he has to know better than any of the other guys that Poe and Finn would be too. 

It doesn't make him doubt his plans for a future with Finn - nothing will, at this point - but it does leave a sour taste in his mouth. Snap has been quieter than usual since he brought up his concerns, giving him an unusually wide berth. Poe wants to ask Finn if something has happened between them but with so much riding on this he keeps it to himself. 

Snap finds him holed up in his office halfway through the day. He stands at the door, gaze flickering from Poe’s face to his desk. “Uh, hey. Can we talk?”

“Is it about work?”

Snap shakes his head. “We should - I want to clear everything up.”

Poe looks down at the mountain of paperwork on his desk. “Okay.”

Snap steps into the room. “So, um -”

The phone sitting on Poe’s desk rings. He glances at Snap, holding a finger up as he answers. “Poe Dameron.”

“There's been a car accident.” Leia speaks in her chief voice. “Not an emergency, someone was on their phone and drove into a light pole. Says they're fine, but they could use some assistance. Take Iolo and Jess and everyone else can hold down the fort.”

“Yes ma’am.” He hangs up and turns back to Snap. “I have to - we can talk later.” 

He leaves his office and piles Jess and Iolo into the truck. It’s a long drive to the scene, at the edge of their district. They’re almost there after ten minutes when dispatch hails them on the radio.

“Dispatch to engine 17, come in, over.”

“Engine 17 here, over.”

“The driver just called back and told us he can handle it on his own, so you guys can head back to base. Over.”

Poe sighs. “Roger that. Engine 17 out.”

He puts the radio back in it’s holder and tries not to be too frustrated at the major waste of time. It’s always a good thing when someone is in a good enough position to not need them. 

Iolo glances at his phone for a moment then turns to Poe. “Hey, since we’re already out, we should stop real fast and get some java.”

“We have coffee at the station.”

“Dameron, we all love you but that stuff is rat piss.” Jess calls from the back of the cab. “Watered down rat piss.”

Poe can't really argue there. 

“It’ll only take a couple minutes, there's a million places on the way back.” Iolo nudges his arm. “If we stop we’d have time to go over the proposal one more time.”

Poe bites his lip. It's a disgustingly obvious ploy that as the captain he definitely should not give into, but they're also three days away from one of biggest moments in his life and it’s totally fair that he's feeling a tiny bit nervous about making sure everything goes right. Knowing what he has waiting for him back at the base, he could really use the pick-me-up. “Yeah, okay.” 

Iolo fist pumps in the air.

“Okay, so Leia’s given us permission to set off the alarm on Monday at exactly one o’clock. We’ll have a small window of time where station 10 will graciously cover us so I can propose to the love of my life.” 

Iolo nods. “Exactly like we’ve had planned for the past two weeks, yes.”

“Hey,” He glances at Iolo. “You're the one that said I should go through it again.”

Iolo sighs. “Should’ve just stuck with the rat piss.” 

\-- 

They get back to the station a little over half an hour after they left. 

He hops out of the truck with a groan, shoulder popping as he stretches. He glances around the bay and does a double take when he sees Karé jogging toward him with a frown. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Finn. Him and Snap got into a fight about something, it happened out of nowhere, I don't even know how it started but - Finn’s on the roof. He said he wanted to cool down but he’s been up there for fifteen minutes, he won't talk to anyone, I -”

Poe takes off at a dead run. His mind spins as he races up the stairs. He throws the door to the roof open, his chest heaving from the exertion. “Finn? What happened, are you -”

The rest of the sentence dies on his tongue when he spots his partner. Finn is standing about ten feet away, his hands in the pockets of his best suit. He’s surrounded by flowers, soft shades of pink and green and cream making a half circle around him. 

He stares at Poe, silent, expression giving away absolutely nothing. 

Poe moves closer with tentative steps. There’s only a couple feet between them but he has to blink to focus on Finn, his throat suddenly dry and his tongue clumsy when he tries to speak. “Finn, what’s going on?”

Finn drops down onto one knee. He pulls his hands out of his pockets and lifts his arms, revealing a small velvet box with a gold band nestled inside it.

Poe gasps. The ground spins beneath his feet, his world shrinking until it’s just the man kneeling in front of him. 

“I am completely, ridiculously in love with you. You’re the most amazing, kind, just… incredible person that I ever met. You’re my best friend, the love of my life, the man I want to spend the rest of my life with. I want to be a family with you and grow old and cranky with you. I want to watch you take an hour to wake up every morning, and make meals with you and nag you when you keep leaving your socks on the floor  _ every  _ day. I want all of it.”

Finn pauses, smiling at him with glistening eyes. “You make me happier than I’ve ever been in my entire life. Happier than I ever thought I could be. If you’ll let me, I want to spend the rest of my life trying to make you as happy as I am right now.”

Finn’s voice cracks. He laughs quietly, the sound so utterly happy that Poe feels like he’s going to pass out. “Poe Dameron, will you marry me?”

Poe takes a deep breath. Wetness runs down his cheeks as he tries to blink away the blurriness. “Yes. Yes, Finn, yes to all of that. Yes, I’ll marry you. Yes.” Poe nods, can’t stop nodding until Finn is up and surrounding him in an intoxicating kiss. 

Finn wraps his arms around Poe’s waist, the ring box digging into his back. Poe plasters himself against his partner - his  _ fiancé _ \- and folds his arms around Finn’s shoulders to try and somehow get closer to him. Far too wound up to kiss his fiancé the way he wants to, Poe breaks the kiss and shoves his face against Finn’s neck with a quiet, utterly blissful laugh. He never wants to let go. 

Finn rubs his back, kissing his temple. “We’re getting married.”

He cups Finn’s jaw with both hands, brushing their lips together. “I am going to marry the crap out of you.”

Finn’s laughter is like music to his ears. He kisses him again, following Finn when he pulls back.

Finn pulls the ring out of the box and takes his left hand, smiling brightly as he slides it on Poe’s ring finger. He kisses Poe’s knuckles which somehow sets off a round of applause and cheers. 

Poe jumps. He looks away for the first time and takes in the entire squad and Leia standing around them, smiling. He laughs, leaning into Finn. “I can’t believe you guys. You were all involved?” 

Jess smirks at him. “It was amazingly easy to fool you, boss.” 

“Wait,” He turns to Snap. “So that stuff you said…?”

“All part of the plan. We had to have a believable reason to get you up here.” Snap shrugs. “I’m a pretty great actor, if I may say so myself.” 

Poe hugs him, then Leia, immediately followed by everyone else. Someone breaks out the apple cider and they stay on the roof until it’s time to get back to work. Poe gives everyone a flower and gets to kiss his fiancé with good-hearted heckling from their friends. 

He’s the luckiest man in the world.

 

\----------

 

The rest of their shift passes by in a happy blur. Poe manages to keep his hands off Finn - for the most part anyway, he can't really be blamed for wanting to kiss the man that just proposed to him in the most romantic, sweetest way. 

As soon as they get home he attaches himself to Finn - to his  _ fiancé _ \- and he doesn't let go until they've both had an orgasm. Even then, he only pulls away long enough to get something to clean them both up with. 

He collapses onto his back and finds Finn’s hand on the bed as he lets himself bask in the remnants of pleasure still coursing through him. “Wow.”

Finn laughs warmly, squeezing his fingers. “Mhm,” 

Poe forces himself to move, rolling onto his side and pressing his body along his fiancé’s. He leans his head on his arm and lets himself take in the man he's going to marry, the man he officially gets to spend the rest of his days with. 

He trails his fingers along Finn’s belly and has to laugh at his luck. “We get to do this for the rest of our lives.”

Finn laughs. He rubs at Poe’s arm, kissing his forehead. “Yeah, we do.”

Poe presses a kiss against Finn's ribs, his ring gleaming in the light when he runs his hand over Finn’s torso. “Oh!” 

He pulls himself away from Finn and jumps off the bed, rooting through his sock drawer. He finds what he's looking for after a moment and pauses, suddenly feeling far more naked than he had a moment ago. 

He turns back to Finn with the little box hidden in his fist. Finn sits up, frowning. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I'm great.” Poe nods quickly, biting his lip. He shuffles onto the bed until he's sitting between Finn’s legs. “So, I was planning to propose to you on Monday.”

Finn smiles, wrapping his legs around Poe. “I know.”

Poe blinks. “What?”

“I knew that you were going to propose.” Finn rubs his flank. “The guys told me like two weeks ago.”

“Okay, um.” Poe pauses. “That’s fine. None of them are invited to our wedding, but it’s fine.”

Hands roam over Poe's skin as Finn smiles at him. “They told me because I started planning mine a couple weeks before that.”

“... Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.” Finn cups Poe’s cheek. “I really wanted to propose to you.”

Poe smiles and nuzzles Finn’s hand. “It was an amazing proposal. I'm really glad you proposed.”

Finn smiles and leans in close to him. His gaze drops to Finn’s lips before he remembers what he was trying to do. He smacks Finn’s chest with his empty hand. “Hey, no, wait.” 

Finn grunts but stays back.

Poe looks down at the velvet box, opening it in his lap. He pulls the golden band out and rolls it in his palm, swallowing around the sudden lump in his throat. “When you proposed you said you wanted to spend the rest of your life making me happier, but I'm already the happiest man in the world - in the entire universe, probably. Because of you.”

He takes Finn’s hand and glances up at him, his breath catching when he sees the love shining in Finn’s eyes. “I want all those moments you talked about. Every single one of them. I want to be with you every step of the way - whatever happens, I know that as long as we're together we can take on anything.”

The ring fits Finn perfectly when Poe slides it onto his finger. It gleams in the light, standing out against Finn's dark skin. Poe holds Finn’s hand in both of his, the bands shining together. 

“I, uh, on the inside of the ring I put the date we met. I mean, it’s not like I was  _ in love _ with you when we first met, but -” He laughs quietly, tightening his grip on Finn. “I knew you were something special. When Leia first told me about you I thought we’d be getting some stuck up probie, but then you were so kind and hardworking and have I told you how good you look in uniform?”

Finn chuckles, looking down at their entwined hands.

“It might not have been the day I fell in love with you, but my life changed that day.” He takes a deep breath. “Seeing you, getting to work with you and be around you was the best part of my day, and then when we got together it was like - like a breath of fresh air. Like coming home, after being gone for so long I didn't even remember what it felt like.

“The time that we’ve been together has been the best time of my life and I -” He sniffs, hiccuping around the overwhelming, bright energy pushing at his chest. “I love every single thing about you. I’m so excited to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Finn lifts their hands to kiss his knuckles. “I love you. So much.” 

He tackles Finn and doesn't let go.

 

\----------

 

Poe stares at himself in the mirror, straightening his tie one last time. He smoothes his hands flat over his shirt and checks again to make sure he didn’t accidentally button his shirt unevenly or leave his fly open. He picks up his pa’s cufflinks, twirling one between his fingers before he puts it on. 

Someone knocks at the door. He tears his gaze away from the mirror. “Yeah?”

His pa pops his head through, smiling. “Ready, mijo?”

\-- 

His pa takes him to the back door, where Karé and Iolo are waiting for them. 

“You guys think there’s time to pop out real quick? I'm really craving a burrito right now.” 

Karé punches Iolo in the arm. “Come on, man. This is a big moment.” She turns to Poe, slapping his shoulder. “You ready?” 

“Just gotta do one thing first.” He lifts himself up onto his toes and wraps an arm around Karé and Iolo’s shoulders, squeezing them both tight. “I love you both very much, thank you for being here with me.” 

They both hug him back, but Iolo pushes him away after a minute. “Okay, big guy, save something for your new husband.”

Today is one of the happiest days of Poe's life so he lets Iolo get away with that comment and doesn't bring up how his eyes are suddenly shiny.

“Okay, let's do this.”

Iolo and Karé link arms and step outside. Poe follows them, his smile growing when he gets outside. 

The sun is shining in a cloudless sky, a light breeze rustling the trees. Poe takes his pa’s arm and he takes in the group of their friends and family that are here for them; he smiles at Rey, Jess, and Leia standing at the end of the aisle. 

Finn’s gaze catches his and the rest of the world fades away. 

**Author's Note:**

> this fic fought me a lot but i really loved the idea of poe wanting to do something big and romantic only to have finn beat him to it, so i hope it came out well
> 
> title taken from the song of the same name because i am a huge nerd
> 
> kudos and comments are very appreciated
> 
> hope you enjoyed!!


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